Shedding and Allowing

This guy, the lizard above who lives in our backyard, is doing something amazing. What he’s doing is natural and totally out of his control, but it’s nonetheless amazing. He’s shedding his skin because he’s growing. And unless he sheds his old skin, he will not be able to grow. The process is called ecdysis, but I think I’ll just call it “allowing.”

I was struck by the lizard’s appearance as I walked outside with my morning cup of coffee earlier today. I see him almost daily and he doesn’t scurry away when he hears me coming anymore. (I really like that!) But today, because his skin looked a little like he had a rough night, I stopped to get a closer look. If there were judgmental, mean-girl-types in the lizard world, they’d probably be whispering something like, “Have your seen Louie? He’s really let himself go!”

And that’s the point. He has let himself go! Go with his natural rhythm, that is.

In a way, the lizard has an advantage over us humans when it comes to going with his natural rhythm. After all, he’s not in the position to stop it. But we humans, what with our supposed superior brains, our ability to choose, and the fact that we can Google…We aren’t real good at “allowing” ourselves to shed the parts of ourselves that are keeping us from growing.

Or at least that’s my experience. I know lots of people who show up, put their heads down, work really hard on things, then keep pushing and trying and when that’s not enough, amp up their determination level all in service of becoming the best they can be. Ding. Ding. Ding. I know people like that because that sometimes that describes me!

Listen, there’s nothing wrong with all that effort. Not at all. But if that’s all we’re doing, we’re missing a really big thing! And here it is – We need to regularly ask ourselves what we need to let go of, what we need to shed, in service of becoming the person we most want to be.

With all my heart and soul, I think there’s something here for us.

What can you let go of in order to allow yourself to grow? A relationship that restricts you? A job that sucks on your soul? Old beliefs you haven’t brought into the light of day and examined in a really long time?

Our natural rhythm, just like the lizard’s, is to grow. And to grow we have to shed the stuff that limits us.

Over the years, I’ve asked countless clients and myself this question over and over again: If someone or something in your life restricts the flow of your life-energy, why is “it” still here?

You have this one life and you are creating it with every decision you make.